Health status of Air Force veterans occupationally exposed to herbicides in Vietnam: II. Mortality

Journal Article · Wed Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1990.03450140054033· OSTI ID:5398320

Michalek, J E; Wolfe, W H; Miner, J C ^[1]

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1. School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, TX (USA)

The Air Force Health Study is a 20-year comprehensive assessment of the current health of Air Force veterans of Operation Ranch Hand, the unit responsible for aerial spraying of herbicides in Vietnam. This report compares the noncombat mortality of 1261 Ranch Hand veterans to that of a comparison population of 19,101 other Air Force veterans primarily involved in cargo missions in Southeast Asia but who were not exposed to herbicides. The indirectly standardized all-cause death rate among Ranch Hands is 2.5 deaths per 1,000 person-years, the same as that among comparison subjects. After adjustment for age, rank, and occupation, the all-cause standardized mortality ratio was 1.0. In adjusted cause-specific analyses, the authors found no significant group differences regarding accidental, malignant neoplasm, and circulatory deaths. These data are not supportive to a hypothesis of increases mortality among Ranch Hands.

• OSTI ID: 5398320
• Journal Information: JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (United States), Vol. 264:14; ISSN 0098-7484
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
HERBICIDES
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
MORTALITY
RISK ASSESSMENT
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
DIOXIN
MILITARY PERSONNEL
NEOPLASMS
AROMATICS
DISEASES
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERSONNEL
PESTICIDES
550300* - Cytology